Lasting Perfection
by lionhead
Summary: This is a story about a what if, concerning the events that took place when Earth waas invaded a second time by the Borg. However, one single event happens differently causing a change that will influence the Star Trek universe forever, combining TNG, TOS and ENT.
1. Chapter 1

**LASTING PERFECTION**

 **Prologue**

The USS Enterprise entered through the temporal vortex. In front of them was Earth, but Earth of the past. Data let the computer calculate that it was April 2nd, 2063. They realized the Borg had come to stop first contact. The sphere was in sight, it was firing on the Earth.

"Data, quantum torpedoes. Fire." Captain Jean-Luc Picard said. Data fired the torpedoes. 3 of them approached the Borg sphere, but it moved just at the last second. Only 1 of the 3 torpedoes hit the ship. The torpedo punched a hole into the sphere big enough to cause it to stop firing on the Earth and hang there adrift. They waited a moment.

"Again, fire torpedoes" The Captain repeated after a short time when the sphere did not appear to be destroyed.

"I am unable Captain. Something is interfering with my controls. I am getting a message about a signal transmitted to the sphere. Somebody is communicating with it." Data said. Picard looked curiously.

"Is it coming from Earth?" He asked. Fear struck Picard, if the humans down on Earth have discovered the sphere Earths future can be in grave trouble.

"No Captain, it appears to be coming... From the Enterprise." Data said and looked back at the Captain. Picard thought for a second.

"It's the Borg, they have transported onto the Enterprise. Data, lock out the central computer." Picard said swiftly. Data did as he was told. From his console he quickly typed in a few dozen commands a second.

"I have been able to encrypt the central computer. It is not likely they will be able to break it. We have lost control of the weapons though. We can not finish off the sphere." Data replied.

"Captain, look. The sphere." Commander Riker said as he walked towards the screen. Picard and the others looked as well. The sphere was moving away. Debris still broke of it, about 30 percent of the ship was destroyed and they saw tiny explosions all over it.

"It is going to warp. Quickly, scan the vessel." Picard said. As he said it the sphere went to warp.

"Scanning was successful. Captain, we do still have control of the engines. Should we pursue?" Data asked.

"Negative. Tell me about the sphere, how badly was the damage?" Picard asked. Data looked for a few moments then looked back at the Captain again.

"It as suffered severe damage throughout the ship. Most systems have failed and about half of the drones are dead. I don't think it can hold together for much longer Captain. Its 2063, there is nothing out there. It will be destroyed before it can find somewhere to repair itself." Data analyzed. Picard thought for a moment.

"We need to get control back of the ship and transport to Earth, to see what kind of damage they have done so we can repair it. We have to make sure First Contact happens. Plus, we need to get rid of the Borg warp trail. If the Vulcans discover it the consequences will be unrepairable. Quickly Data." The Captain replied. There was too much to be done. No time to worry about a lost sphere, they thought. It will have to travel at least 90 light-years to find a system that can help them repair their damage, before that time it will already be too late as Data calculated the sphere would be destroyed after travelling15 light-years, if it kept that warp speed. No, dealing with the problems on board the Enterprise is top priority now, the sphere is no longer a threat.

 **Sphere 187, going Warp 3. Somewhere in 2134, Earth time.**

Anomaly detected. Grid 7 dash 1. Dropping out of warp. System human designation Epsilon Indi. 1 habitable world, intelligent life detected. Second planet from the star. Species: Human. Planet too far to reach.

Grid 7 dash 5 Sector 7 anomaly registered. Setting course. Approaching for scan. Scanning incomplete. Scanning incomplete. Scanning incomplete. Distance to anomaly 3 AU. Warp drive approaching critical state. life support deactivated, reverting all power to impulse engines. closing. anomaly artificial, human. attempt... Warp core breached... Total destruction in 3, 2, 1..


	2. Chapter 2

**PART 1**

The man opened his eyes. He had been awoken. How long has it been he wondered. Could be decades, could be only weeks. He looked around, the alarms were ringing. Had they been discovered? He slowly started to move, his recuperation took long. This should suggest they had been asleep for a long time. Then it wouldn't be logical they were discovered. Was the ship damaged perhaps? He stood up and stretched quickly. This was necessary for his muscles to regain strength, to absorb oxygen again. He walked over to the nearest terminal, though moving was still difficult. The ship had indeed been hit by something. He needed to go to the bridge, to find out where they were, when they were and how badly the damage was. He watched the other sleeper cells. His people, his family. One of them was deactivated. He quickly rushed over. Balbir, dead. He laid his hands over the glass. No time to mourn. He exited the sleeper cells chamber. The lights in the corridor were off, there must be damage close-by. As he came around a corner he halted and ducked back again. There was someone there. His crew was still asleep so it had to be an intruder. He peeked around the corner. The figure was humanoid, at least at first glance. His body was nearly all black, metallic it appeared. There were tubes hanging from its body and one of it arms was all machine. This was no ordinary intruder. It appeared to be plugged into the console it was standing near, 2 tubes reached into the USB inputs. He couldn't hesitate. He approached the figure aggressively. The figure turned around as the man approached. The man hit it with both hands on the shoulder at full strength. It didn't seem to feel the blow. It looked at him. It had a human like face, yet with ridges across its nose. An alien species. Its eye had been removed and replaced with an ocular of some sort, it was quite bulky. Its face was all pale and it had blackish veins. So curious, he thought. The alien raised his mechanical arm, the man grabbed it. The alien was very strong, stronger than he was. But he could use his techniques to twist it away from him and push it against the wall. Yet the alien didn't seem to be affected by it. The man did have superior speed though and hit it again with both hands. This time its knees gave way and dropped to the floor. But, from the machine-like arm protracted the tubes, then the arm reached for his leg. He couldn't pull it back quick enough and the tubes penetrated the clothes, and then the skin. It felt like an insect bite. The sensation was quite overwhelming for a moment. It was a long time since he had felt anything like it. His instincts were natural of course, he kicked the alien on the head as hard as he could. He heard the bones crack. The alien lay motionless, the tubes retracted.

He checked his leg. The wound was small, but he could see blackness spreading across his veins around it. He had been infected by something. What was it? He looked up at the console the alien was standing near. Green light emitted from it, the screen and wiring seem to have been taken over somehow. Maybe this was some sort of nanotechnology. It had to be. He rushed to the medical bay. There must be a way to counter it. Something that has infected the ship has also infected him. His body could slow the infection down but he couldn't be sure it could stop it.

There was nothing much to counter nanomites or whatever they were. No time to scan or examine it himself. He grabbed a syringe from one of the drawers in the medical bay. This syringe had a cocktail of T-cells and B-cells. That should help his system fight the nanomites. Now he was going to the bridge.

On the bridge he warmed the systems and asked for a full report on the ship. The ship had come to a stop since the collision. As the computer processed he looked at the star chart. They were in Epsilon Indi, 12 light-years from Earth. The year was 2134. He sighed. They were safe from discovery. His plan had worked. He smiled. The computer was finished creating a report. He read it.

Some kind of alien vessel had hit his ship, the Botany Bay. His name, was Khan.


	3. Chapter 3

The alien ship had been damaged before, it was spherical in shape and quite large. Luckily the biggest part of it had missed the ship, only a few fragments had hit. The damage was not too severe, all systems were still operating normal. Some parts of the alien ship had embedded itself into the hull and penetrated decks 3 to 7. In total 8 sleeper bays had failed, 8 of his family had died. Khan wondered how many had died because of the collision. Khan looked at the alien vessel more closely, the cameras had put it in view well. It seemed to have exploded about an AU away from them, it was going very fast indeed and straight for them. As he re-winded the images he noticed the ship had appeared into the system, out of nowhere. Had it come with an FTL drive? Had it found the Botany Bay and intended to destroy them or overtake them? Yes, that must be it. These aliens have a way of infecting technological and biological objects and assimilate them. That's what the nanomites are trying to do to him right now. His superior immune system was fighting strong though. But Khan was sure their nanotechnology would eventually overtake his body, they were more advanced in every way. Khan thought for a moment. The ship had also been affected and the infection was spreading rapidly. He needed help with stopping it and finding out more about this curious way of improvement and how they could use it for themselves. Yes, this new alien technology was going to be very useful. He decided to wake his crew.

After a few hours his crew had woken up. He looked at them as they stretched.

"Akim. The trip is over, the battle begins again. This time, we build what we dream. A perfect world. Our dynasty will live forever. Come, meet me in the medical bay. All of you, take your posts and read my briefing of our current situation." He told his right hand man. He briefed him personally on the way to the medical bay.

"There nanomites are still fighting my body, they appear to be very resistant. I want you to collect a sample and put them under the nanoscope." He ordered Akim. Akim did as he was told. He worked while Khan lay on the bed, better keep his heart rate low to prevent further infection. The nanomites could be all over his body by now in small quantities, it could be very difficult to remove them indeed. Akim looked curiously through the nanoscope.

"Strange, they are not moving, its like they are dead." He said. He grabbed a knife and cut himself. He then dropped a small drop of blood on the sample. He looked again.

"Curious. They are attacking the cells, like a virus. They are attaching themselves to them and then inject them. The cells are being changed. They attack the dead and damaged cells too." He said. Khan was allowed to look at it on a screen.

"They assimilate them, turn them into whatever they want them to become. Turn me into one of those things over there." Khan said. He pointed at the alien, he had laid it on a bed in the medical bay and quarantined it.

"With your permission great Khan I wish to study that subject." Akim said. Khan nodded. Akim had the same kind of superior intellect as he, only less of the leader qualities and ambitions Khan had.

"Find out as much as you can, anything that can help us stop the infection of me and the ship." They had not built the ship themselves, just adapted it to suit their needs. The ship had less defenses than Khan had, it will fall soon to the infection.

"We need to examine the mechanical parts too, their technology is superior. We could use it. The other are already extracting info from the alien vessel's parts stuck on the ship. Anything, even the alloys used could be helpful." He continued. Akim nodded as he entered the quarantine chamber and started doing scans and an autopsy on the body. Khan laid still, he will not move, he will breath slowly an will not eat, for days if need be. Anything to resist. He was good at resisting.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Planet Indi, Epsilon Indi system, capital New London.**

They have been living on this planet for over 70 years now. Since the sleeper ship had stopped here and they first set foot on this planet they have had nothing but peace and quiet. No wars, no diseases, no famine. Nothing of the old world they had left behind had come with them. A couple of decades ago even, a ship arrived from Earth. They had been told and proven Earth had been united, contact with a peaceful alien species called the Vulcans had been established and a new era of prosperity had arrived for humanity. They had brought along technology and new colonists with new ideas and knowledge. They had travelled using an FTL drive, the journey took only a few weeks. All was well. Until, Mayor George Finch got the photographs taken by the observatory of a section of the system. On the photos they saw spaceships, which seemed in combat. At one point there was a lot of debris and only one ship, the smaller one, remained. Why they were here and what they are doing here was unknown, but it was safe to assume they will be heading for the planet next. What they needed was a way to find out their intentions and maybe prevent contact. They wanted to be left alone. There were only 500 people on this planet, without a way to defend themselves.

 **Back on board the botany bay.**

"The nanomites just keep on adapting to the attacks i have been bombarding them with great Khan." Akim said with a small voice. Khan didn't like that tone.

"The spread has become too severe Akim, you disappoint me." Khan said as he lay still on the bed like he has been for 48 hours now. His crew had reported they had ordered the ship to head for the nearest habitable world. It would take them 2 weeks to get there. Meanwhile, the alien infection of the ship had not stopped either, his crew were fighting for every transistor. But they seem to just be overpowered by this alien technology every time they try something. Its learning, evolving. Quicker then anything he had ever seen before. He started to admire it greatly.

"I will try a new form of chemotherapy. I hope to halt the infection again." Akim said. Khan frowned, the first motion besides his mouth he has done in those 48 hours.

"Only halt it? Not destroy the nanomites?" He asked. Akim only nodded. Khan got more and more annoyed. The infection had spread over both his legs now and his lower torso. He didn't feel much different except some discomfort from the constant radiation Akim had been giving him trying to stop the mites. He heard them now, they must be in his brain already. He talked to them, they explained a lot to him. They sought perfection, perfection by assimilating superior technology and biologies. They were very pleased with Khans body, it taught them much. In turn Khan learned about the future, where they were from and about advanced technologies and alien physiologies. So much to improve still he knew now. He could keep control, he knew it. But what would be next step then? Advance their bodies with technology? A better human race, gained through assimilation and then conquest... Khan kinda liked the sound of that. A universe at their feet, they start with home and end at the Delta Quadrant. He would find his queen there...

"Akim, come here my friend." He said. He raised his head to look at Akim who looked at him curiously.

"Yes, Khan? What is it?" He asked as he came closer.

"Come closer, to my face. I want to tell you something. About the nanomites." He said. Akim got closer with his ear to Khans mouth.

"What is it? Are they starting to affect you?" Akim asked.

Khan whispered. "If you can't beat them, join them." He said. He then wrapped his arm around Akim's neck and squeezed.


	5. Chapter 5

"The struggle is over. I have formed a symbiosis with these alien nanomites, a mutualism. I can hear them, do you understand Akim? They are mine to control now. And you will join us as well." He said as he squeezed harder and made Akim pass out. He stood up. He stretched again and allowed the nanoprobes as they were called take over his body, spread out. He knelt down to Akim and injected him with the probes as well. He felt a rush through his body, the nanoprobes were altering his body as he walked around the room. Improving what was already improved so well. He noticed the probes were actually trying to overtake his mind, but Khan didn't allow it. Soon they will give up and the mutualism is complete. He will function as a brand new King, a Borg King. Khan smiled.

He could even feel the nanoprobes spread through Akim's body, much faster now that they knew their augmented physiologies better. Within a few minutes they had spread over most his body. He had infected him at the neck so the spread was more direct.

"Rise Akim. Be reborn." He said, he could hear Akim's mind waking up. It was a strange experience and Akim's mind was fighting his control. But in the end it failed, Akim was now his. He didn't make him his full slave though, not like the original Borg did to organics they assimilated. This was how it always should have been Khan realized. Though Akim was still his loyal subordinate, Khan had become something greater and followers was no longer the proper name. No, Akim was his child. Akim's mind was still allowed a certain freedom, to bring fresh ideas and innovation. Later he would free Akim's mind even more, when he has been fully reeducated, but first Khans new collective needed to become stronger. He directed Akim to lie on the bed.

"Time for some more direct improvements Akim." He said and started working on his body, replacing body parts for devices. It didn't take very long as the nanoprobes were a big help. When Akim rose again he was totally different. Khan had to tear a few pieces of equipment apart to make him this way but Akim was now able to sense heat, see in the dark, scan the environment, break locks and keypads, etc.

"Now, let us spread our augmentation to the others and let them be reborn as my children as well." Khan said and they exited the medical bay.

Within a few hours all the crew were assimilated, some of them even voluntarily allowed themselves to be assimilated. With each assimilated mind Khan felt himself get stronger, new ideas, new memories filled his head. It was a strange feeling too, the information was not directly inside of his head but felt more like floating around him. He could sense his people around him, his children. They were doing their jobs, no doubts anymore, no ambitions for themselves, no arrogance, no fear. Even his ship, the Botany Bay. He could feel it, the circuitry going through its walls like nerves.  
The ship was part of the collective basically. He knew what the ship knew, he could sense the ship, what it needed he and his crew will provide. He was the captain, the boss. Khan felt pride fill him, only he was still bound to human emotions and sins. But, he knew he was in charge of them. The nanoprobes had told him so. Yes, whenever he felt an emotion he would act upon it accordingly, calmly. The search for perfection had begun, it had never ended actually and emotions were an important part of it, unlike what the Borg knew. The more minds the more power he could feel around him.  
He needed more, more technology, more information, more power. The planet was his next target obviously. They were now busy upgrading and repairing the ship. The ship had not been heavily damaged but his crew had destroyed and shut down a few systems to prevent the nanoprobes from infecting the rest of the ship. This was stopped, but a lot of systems were lost including the propulsion. It took time to repair the engines, but eventually they were on their way towards the near planet. It would take a few years probably, since the engines needed to start accelerating all over again.  
They had harvested what they could from the sphere debris and they had managed to upgrade the engines a bit so they would accelerate faster but still they could not get anywhere near the speed it had when they were hit. Khan had learned all he could from the nanoprobes and he had no way of improving the engines more with the resources he had. In the mean time they had plenty of other things to do, working on some nice shield upgrades and weapons for the ship to use against the planet they were sure had humans on it as they had picked up radio signals. After 10 years they arrived, the Botany Bay now had more speed, more armour and better weapons. They took orbit around the planet. They are the Borg, resistance is futile.


	6. Chapter 6

**PLANET INDI, August 2146.**

The planet proved no difficulty to take over once they arrived. They were without defenses and limited advanced technology. They had been on this planet for more than 80 years, but hadn't managed to create much more than 2 cities. There was unfortunately significant casualties among the colonist population, much more than Khan wished. Nearly 75 percent of the population died before they could be assimilated.

However, most of the technology had been captured nearly undamaged. The planet had visits from ships from Earth the past decades who had provided them with new technology developed in what seemed a golden age on Earth because of a first contact with an alien species known as Vulcans. Khan of course knew about the Vulcan species, first contact in 2063, Earth united in 2065. Currently United Earth is busy showing the Vulcans they can build and explore peacefully, they need to prove their time of fighting amongst eachother is over. This weakens the human race Khan knew, these Vulcans are a threat to the survivability of the human race, as are most other alien species. It would create future dangerous situation with alien species who do not want a peaceful first contact. Khan saw some allies in aliens though, like these Romulans, Klingon and Cardassians.  
All 3 are enemies of what will be known as the United Federation of Planets, Khan sees a potential alliance between his Borg and them. The creation of the UFP won't happen for decades though, there is plenty of time for Khan and his Borg to gather the power to outclass them in every way. The technology they captured on this planet was very usefull as it was heavily based on Vulcan technology, something the Borg knew and could adapt easily to serve their needs. Khan was patient. His collective's power at the moment was limited as the small size of the collective made data go lost and assimilation become inefficient, which was the main reason the invasion of the planet resulted in such a loss of new drones. He needed to increase the collective with new minds, alien minds preferably.

So, he put his goals for Earth aside for now, instead focussing on a much closer target. Amongst the technology the colony had been given was a warp drive, which his drones were now outfitting the Botany Bay with. They also had a replicator in their possession as well as a tricorder. Both were enhanced by Khan's nanoprobes to become closer to their 24th century versions. The tricorder, of course, integrated into the Borg drone body and the replicator made to duplicate more replicators for their industry. It was a shame though, Khan had learned about the existance of much more technology from the future like teleporters and transwarp but the ability to create that technology had simply been lost. The nanoprobes did manage to upgrade the warp drive. When it was finished it would be able to do warp 1.5, instead of the simple Warp 1 it was meant to do. More ships were being build as well, also capable of Warp 1.5 and with better design and weapons for combat. This was all needed for later, now though Khan needed to expand his collective.  
So, he launched the Botany Bay once it was finished, took his original crew and some new drones with him and set course for the closest solar system that has planets in it; Alpha Comae Beren, also called the Teneebia system. From data he had recovered Khan had found out this system had also been visited by humans already. It was only 1 lightyear from Planet Indi so they arrived in just 90 days time. Once they arrived they had found only 2 moons in the system had been visited and only 2 small bases were found with a few human speciments. They were quickly added to the collective and the bases were destroyed. They could load up on resources there to ensure a much longer trip was possible. They quickly continued with visits to Lalande 25372 and the planet Fomalhaut in the Alpha Piscis Australis system. Both systems contained human colonies that had only been visited once by the United Earth and both systems were added to the collective. This caused a huge swell in the population of the collective and its power increased significantly. They could now hear eachother from lightyears away, keeping all 3 planets connected constantly.


	7. Chapter 7

**EPILOGUE OF PART 1**

Now, it was the year 2149. Almost 3 years had passed. The colonies had been fully transformed into Borg planets, pushing out resources, technology and babies for the ever expanding collective. In this time they had collected travelling ships all over the sector, their sector. About a half dozen ships travelling close or through their sector had been intercepted and captured, 2 of these were alien vessel of Vulcans and Andorians. Khan was pleased.

The alien physiologies were fascinating, but only a handful of alien individuals was not enough for Khan, he needed thousands of aliens to be part of his collective. The Botany was back at Epsilon Indi, its warp engine upgraded to do Warp 2. 3 other ships had been build as well in this time, they were ready to be launched to other parts of the galaxy to assimilate. But first a big step for Khan's collective was to take place. They were now ready for a long expedition to another inhabited alien world, Benzar, in the Delta Pavonis system.  
This system was a lot further then they had ever gone, nearly 10 light years. Khan could have also gone to Arcturus or Borka as well but he had not enough information on those systems to be sure they could take them.  
The biggest reason he chose Benzar was because it was home to an alien species, the Benzarites. Khan knew the Benzarites were original members of the UFP. If he were to attack them and assimilate the entire species he would change the future as the nanoprobes had told him and put the creation of this Federation at risk. A weaker enemy is what he was after. The original founders were a better target, Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites, but they were all too far away and too technologically advanced to take on, like Earth. No, a more defenseless species was first. Plus this species was a space faring species so their technology and colonies would be a good addition to the collective. Khan had to strike now too, his collective was getting noticed.

Though no word had reached Earth or any other major alien world yet there were numberous rumors going around in the Alpha Quadrant of missing people and lost contacts. It was a good possibility Benzar was aware of these rumors and had investigated towards it already. All the more reason to attack now, before they found out what was going on and ask for help from anywhere. So, they set course for Benzar with the Botany Bay and 2 smaller ships(much like Borg spheres) while the 3 other attack ships(plus the 5 still being completed) were to stay at Indi to protect the planet. It would take 2 years to get there. Khan was coming as well, including a huge amount of drones and their most advanced weapons. Benzar would try and resist, but resistance is futile.

 **END OF PART 1**


	8. Chapter 8

**PART 2**

 ** _CAPTAIN'S LOG, STARDATE 2150.6_**. _This is the log book of Captain Jonathan Archer of the Starship Enterprise NX-01. The launch of the NX-01 project had been accelerated due to a worrying message from the planet of Benzar in the Delta Pavonis System. The message spoke of an unknown alien species attacking systems unprovoked with advanced weapons and technology. They were worried of being targetted next. Since the Benzites are allies to the Vulcans I have been ordered out towards the Pavonis system accompanied by the Columbia NX-02. Also, joining us along the way is a Vulcan starship called the Seleya, a D'kyr type combat cruiser. They are investigating the gone missing of some scout ships and allied vessels around the area. The captain of the Vulcan ship said he would be under my command since this mission is clearly connected to theirs and these alien pirates are no doubt responsible for the missing vessels. We have been travelling at maximum warp for the last 50 days and are nearing the system. We will be dropping out of warp in a few hours._

"Captain to the Bridge." Captain Archer heard through the intercom. He got up out of bed and put on his uniform, he then proceeded to the turbolift and up to the bridge. T'pol was sitting in his chair as he entered but got up immediately.

"Captain on the bridge." She said and looked at him as he entered and sat down.

"Captain, we got a call from the Vulcan vessel. Captain Voris wants to talk to you." She said as she sat on one of the other consoles. This was the third time today that Captain Voris would express his concerns, a lot less than the first few days of the journey.

"Alright. On screen." Archer said. The face of Captain Voris came into view on the screen.

"Captain Archer. I call again to express my concerns regarding your approach for this mission. We are going in blind, unprepared and foolhearted. I must insist you take my advice and we head back to Vulcan to add reinforcements to our fleet." He said with the utmost sincerety.

"I do understand your concerns Captain. But we cannot leave the Benzites to their fates. Whatever these pirates are they are hostile and merciless. We must help now, if we wait we might be too late already." Archer replied firm and professionally.

"I agreed to you be leading this mission because you are under direct orders of the Vulcan High Command to stop these criminals who are probably just a group of Orion or Ferengi marauders, and because you seem to have more information but i cannot allow my ships to come in harms way because of your human stubborness or curiosity." Voris replied, sounding even more concerned like talking to a child.

"Please Captain Voris. I am sure we will be arriving to the welcome and gratitude of the Benzites and once these Orion or Fa...Ferengi as you seem to know see our 3 ships to protect them they will run with their tails between their legs and we won't be having any problems with them again. I will make note of all concerns and include them in my report to the Vulcan High Command when we get back. I take it you will again express your concerns about any complaints you have about my command in your own report to the Vulcan High Command. Thank you Archer out." Archer said the last part while looking at T'pol and she cut the feed.

"Captain. I have never heard of Ferengi's but Orion do not have tails. I will find it highly unlikely you know if these Ferengi do." T'Pol said. Like a true Vulcan she didn't understand human verbs at all.

"Commander i have never heard of Ferengi either, but its just a phrase we humans use meaning they will run scared without looking back. This D'kyr combat cruiser is the biggest ship i have ever seen, i am sure the pirates too." Archer said rubbing his head forgetting why there was a Vulcan on board as his second-in-command. She reminded him quickly.

"Captain i agree with Captain Voris's concerns. These reports indicate they are not random encounters with marauders but they originate from roughly the same area. This would mean they have a base of operations and their total strength could be very underestimated. They could originate from a planet they have colonized or even conquered. Loss of contact with human colonies have been reported too. We should first investigate one of those before heading to defend a planet from whatever kind of force."

"Commander, replay the message from the Benzites please." Archer said. T'pol obeyed.

"This is President Hondo of the Benzar government sending out a distress signal on all frequencies. We have reason to believe an unkown threat is currently targetting our planet. They have unkown strength but definit hostile intentions. We require immediate aid. addressing all willing vessels and worlds. This is Benzar in space sector 35783. Please help. This message will repeat." The sector number was the same as Earth's, which was pretty useless to Archer. Luckily the Vulcans had their planet in their star charts, or they would have never found them. Archer got up from his seat and went over to T'pol's console.

"Bring up the chatter of supply ships in the area, Benzite ones in particular." He asked, T'pol brought them up in a few seconds. He looked through the list of voice chat made into text. All had been translated to English. He stopped at one.

"There, that trade ship mentions they detected a warp trail, one unlike they had ever seen. Our own specs show its signature is mostly human, mostly. Its route is right towards Benzar, probably Warp 2. They are multiple ships. Someone is headed for Benzar, now. If they really are pirates and they really have a base of operations it must be a former human colony, like in Epsilon Indi. One of the colonies we have lost contact with. Multiple ships, strong enough to take on trade ships and colonies. They are a high risk. If he we go there to investigate we miss catching up to this warp trail directly threathening the Benzite homeworld. We have to help them now. We can't delay." Archer said as emphatic as possible. T'pol nodded in agreement


	9. Chapter 9

"Alright Captain, we will be dropping out of warp in 2 hours. We will have caught up with the unknown warp trail by 3 hours at least. We will face whatever awaits us there." She said. Archer nodded at her and sat back in his seat.

"Bring up all information about Benzar again. Lets get familiar with the terrain."

Once they dropped out of warp they were hailed almost immediately.

"Its the President of Benzar, Captain." T'pol remarked.

"On screen." Archer said as he stood up. On the screen the face of the Benzite President showed.

"Captain. Thank the 3 heavens, Our gratitude is eternal. I had hoped the Vulcans would respond to our plea for help. Shall i tell you the situation?" The Benzite president looked tired, scared and desperate. He looked like he would have accepted help from Klingons if they had showed up.

"Can you tell us about the threat heading your way? What species are they, what type of ships, what are their numbers?" Archer asked. The Benzite president shook his head immediately.

"i wish i could Captain..."

"Archer, Jonathan Archer of the starship Enterprise. We are from Earth. With use we have a Vulcan vessel, a combat vessel."

"Your ship is not for combat?" The president asked more shocked than surprised.

"No, this is an exploration vessel, as is its sister ship the Columbia. We do have the latest on weapons technology on us though, but not enough to wage war with. A small group of pirates should be no problem though."

"I'm not sure if we are dealing with pirates Captain Archer. We have reports, witnesses saying they are relentless, destructive and powerful. An unknown species. Could be just unidentified. But we have never seen Orion slavers act like this. Nor Romulans." The president talked slow and clearly, he was confident in what he said. Archer nodded.

"What about Ferengi?" He asked. The president looked curiously at him.

"I am sorry, i have never heard of that species." He said, Archer waved his hands.

"Thats alright Mr. President. Thank you, we will be in touch shortly. We are going to go over the plan of defense. Archer out." The feed was cut.

"Commander, get the Columbia and Seleya on screen." Archer asked as he sat back down. The faces of Captain Voris and Captain Hernandez popped up on screen.

"Captain's, you have heard my conversation with the Benzite president. Recommendations?" He asked.

"The signature is approaching this location with Warp 2 but has increased in speed to Warp 2.3 according to the latest readings. They could be here in a few hours or a few minutes. We have no time to create a perimeter or set up a minefield, something the Beznites proposed. We need to greet them the moment they drop out of warp." Captain Hernandez said.

"I advise caution Captain Archer. I'd say we set up near the home world concern ourselves about what is dropping out of warp, not just when." Captain Voris followed. Archer rubbed his chin.

"We will split up. The Enterprise and the Seleya will hold position close to where they might drop out of warp. The Columbia will be stationed nearer to the planet, along with whatever ships the Benzites have. If the enemy force is too big we will retreat and our forces will join together to destroy or disperse them." Archer said. He never actually thought he would be coordinating combat tactics to multiple ships to actually attack hostile forces. He was an explorer, an adventurer, not a fighter. But they had no choice, they were the best chance for this planet right now. Both captains didn't complain about Archer's plan, not even the Vulcan captain. The feed was cut.

"Right. Ensign Travis, take us to the location." He asked, the ensign moved the starship towards where they calculated the enemy ship or ships would appear. Then they waited.

An hour later they got a signal coming in.

"Captain, unknown alien vessels approaching at Warp 2.5 They will arrive in this sector in 10 minutes." T'pol said.

"Readings?"Archer asked. Their ship could scan at long range, even things at warp. He hoped they would find out who or what they were and how many.

"Counting 3 ships sir. Unknown designs. Heavily armored and each armed with at least 3 torpedo tubes and phase cannons."

"sir, there is a strange signal coming from the vessels. I can perhaps isolate it to find out what it is." Commander T'pol said.

"Do it, any information we can get could help us." Archer responded. After a few minutes she had a result.

"The signal appears to exist in subspace sir." She said. Archer thought about that for a moment. Subspace? FTL messages back towards their home base?

"A continuous signal in subspace?" He asked, T'pol nodded to confirm. So, they are in constant contact with their home base, probably eachother too. Odd behavior for regular pirates.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"Seems there is more to it sir, not sure what. Its like its a web of signals going back a forth between them. Like they are costantly talking to eachother through subspace." T'pol said, clearly concerned.

"They don't seem like regular Ferengi or Orion pirates to me. I think caution is best advised." She added, Archer nodded. He stood up from his seat.

"Open the comms with the Columbia and Seleya, i want to know anything on the minds of the captains." Archer said. T'pol did as told, quickly too for they had arrived.

"On screen." He said. In front of them the image of 3 ships dropping out of warp came into view.

"Fascinating." Said Captain Voris.

"I believe what Captain Voris is trying to say is; these are obviously not pirates, Ferengi, Orion or otherwise. What does the scan say Commander? Quickly now." Archer spoke fast, what he saw on screen in front of him send chills down his spine. He wasn't expecting anything like this. These thing looked like to come straight out of a horror movie.

"Scans are only shallow captain. Their hulls are thick, advanced meta-alloys. There are several large hardpoints on each of them, they carry a lot of firepower."

"Hail them." Archer said. He didn't expect a response and was already considdering evasive maneuvers and targetting weapons. But to his surprise T'pol said they got an answer.

"On screen. Close to link with our other ships immediately." He said, can't have any mistakes, a one on one dialogue with the enemy leader is the best chance they got. Perhaps Archer could reason with him or her. In screen popped up an image of a man, a human male it appeared. Archer was confused. His skin was pale, he was bald an electronic device was stuck onto his skin just above the ear, he also had a kind of oculus in front of one of his eyes. Behind him an eerie green light and smoke. He spoke, his voice was rasp and deep. It sounded like he was talking to a robot.

"Captain Jonathan Archer. Excellent. We have been looking forward to meeting you in person." He said. Archer got shivers.

"You know who i am?" Archer asked. There was something familiar about his face, but he couldn't quite place it. "Have we met before?" He added.

"No, we couldn't have. We wish we had though, a man of your status, all your great deeds." The man said. Archer was puzzled by that. The man had no facial expressions, his eye was dark and dead. He looked more like a zombie. Still, some features looked awfully familiar.

"You are, human?" Archer asked, stalling while he puzzled about his remarks and his face.

"Once we were, so long ago. But now we are whole. Join us Captain Jonathan Archer, join our collective and we shall show you who you are, what you put into motion. Resistance is futile."

Resistance is futile, Archer thought about that for a moment. What did he want?

"Why are you here?" Archer decided to ask. The figure showed a facial expression for the first time, delight.

"Ah, we have come here to recruit. Captain."


	10. Chapter 10

Archer didn't understand this man. What did he mean by that? Do they enslave people like the orion do, or do they use them for other purposes?

"Recruit? You mean enslave?" Archer decided to attack verbally, no time to play a game with this man, he needs to know the truth and needs time to think of what to do next. The man looked static again, no sign of anger or surprise for Archer to interpret.

"Enslavement is insufficient Captain. You'd need to supervise, feed, discipline. No, what we do is much more potent. Please, observe." The man said and stepped a bit aside. A second individual came into view, its looks got everyone on the bridge gasping. This person was full of electronic devices on his face and had tubes coming out of the top of his head. As Archer now saw, the oculus on their eye wasn't on top of it, it had replaced the eye. The figure showed off its arm and showed its many tools that had replaced the hand. More tubes came from behind his back, probably plugged into his spine. It was a horrendous sight.

"Do you see Captain? We adapt ourselves to improve, to become better." The man said as the other disappeared and he came back into full view. Archer looked at him so much different now, a monster.

"Who was that person? Someone you kidnapped from one of the planets you attacked? Or from a vessel?" Archer asked promptly, he needed to know what happened to all the people these monsters had encountered.

"That? That was 3 of 6. Designated to this vessel 6 months ago. But i think you mean where the body was from. Why it came from Earth actually. A J-Class freighter i believe yes? Resistance was futile you see, they knew that and the transition was clean and quick. Now, they all serve the collective."

"Collective?" Archer asked. This time the man actually smiled, this clearly showed how old he actually was and the bad state his skin and bones were in.

"Oh, Captain Archer. We have so much the show you, to explain. We are patient, we are sure you have plenty to discuss with the other ships. Please, take your time. We will wait right here. You will see no movement of us. I'll call back." The man said and the connection was broken. This was a relief, everyone on the bridge took a breath. What they just saw and heard took a few moments to take in. But Archer got his act back together the quickest.

"Commander, show Captain Voris what has transpired. Quickly now." Archer said as he sat back down on the chair. He called for Dhr. Phlox.

"Bridge to Medical bay." He said whilst biting his thumb. He knew that face. There must be some kind of reason for that. Someone he had seen before in old photos or history lessons. Then it struck him. He knew someone who could help him with that.

"Commander T'pol. Please send the image of the person we were talking to forward to Lieutenant Reed in the armory. He might have a clue to who that is.

"Do you believe him to be of Earth Captain?" T'pol asked. Archer nodded.

"Could be, but from a different time. It doesn't make any sense."

"Medical bay to bridge, Doctor Phlox here." Archer heard through the comms.

"Doctor. I need you to take a look at these photos. These figures, can you tell me how old this person is?" Archer asked, the photo of the man had been send to Phlox who was watching them closely.

"Humans are very hard to give an age to, captain. His skin tone is very pale, moist and wrinkled. Looks to me he has been dead for a long time actually. With these modifications on his face i think he probably has extended his life. People who believe in cybernetic modifications to improve their life use it to extend it too, someone can become 200 years potentially. A Vulcan can get over 400 years old that way. It puts strain on the brain though, it starts to be overcrowded with memories and emotions." Dr. Phlox was clearly interested in the figure.

"What about internal cybernetics? Are there any knows devices that could extend life?" Archer asked. Dr. Phlox shrugged, a trait he picked up whilst living on Earth for many years.

"I can't really think of any cybernetics that could extend life. There exists advanced research in nanobot technology, some species at the edge of the Alpha Quadrant are supposedly very good at it, could be they got technology from them. Also, cryogenic sleep could extend life, as humans have used in the past."

"Cryogenic sleep. Hm." Archer said wondering, more talking to himself. Cryogenic sleep does ring a bell. He recalled his history lessons from primary school.

"Humanity send out sleeper ships from the 1990's onward, whole families went into cryogenic sleep and only awoke when they arrived in a system that had a planet that could support them. Some of the colonies that were attacked were created by these type of people. They are all older than the oldest Vulcan." Archer said. Dr. Phlox drew his conclusions from it.

"Quite possible this person is one of them. Although there is no record of cryogenic sleep causing insanity or any type of psychosis. Cryogenic technologies are hazardous when the sleeper cells are damaged, causing severe brain damage from lack of oxygen which often leads to death. But you can't possibly turn insane from that kind of trauma, not humans as far as i know." Dr. Phlox said. Archer nodded. But something else was bothering him. This man acts like their leader, not a member.

"Thank you doctor. That will be all." He said, Dr. Phlox nodded and the feed was cut.

"Captain, will we assume that this person is a old human cryogenic sleeper that went insane?" T'Pol asked. Archer didn't respond for a moment. Eventually he got off his chair and started pacing.

"How can someone from one of the colonies get this far with these cybernetics and upgrades to technology? It doesn't make any sense, you need near unlimited resources." Archer said. T'pol responded.

"Indeed captain, whats needed is a fully functioning and modern industrial area. No human colonies out there have that kind of resources available." She said.

"So no cryogenic sleeper. But if he's not from the colonies, he can only have come from Earth. But from when?" Archer asked himself. T'pol responded questionable.

"I think you mean from where, captain." She said. Archer looked at her. Maybe he didn't.

"No, what i meant..." He started.

"Captain, Captain Voris is hailing us." T'Pol interrupted.

"On screen." Archer said.

"That was a very chilling conversation, captain." Voris started.

"It was. If you have any advice i'd like to hear it. Do you know anything we don't?" Archer asked, coming to realize the Vulcans might know more. Voris looked honestly surprised though.

"Know more? No captain Archer. I assure you you know as much as i do. In fact i was about to ask you the same question as this individual is human afterall. I suspect he is a colonist?"

"That was my first thought as well, but i'm afraid it just doesn't make sense. There is more behind this person. We are currently trying to figure it out." Archer replied. Voris gave him a insecure look.

"Better "figure it out" fast Captain, this person doesn't seem like the type to wait long." He said and cut the feed. Archer wa relieved that Voris didn't start to intervene. T'pol did though.

"Captain, might i suggest to have Captain Voris take command of this situation? He has more experience with these types of situations and would b able to make more objective actions." She said without so much as a blink. Archer looked at her curiously. He stepped towards her.

"Are you questioning my capabilities to command this mission? Thats insubordination commander, i advise you to refrain from expressing this opinion again or you will find yourself on board the Seleya quickly. Do i make myself clear?" He said, exerting his superior rank as best he could. T'pol seemed to realise her mistake.

"I apologize Captain." She said but didn't look away or sat down.

"Engineering to Bridge." They heard over the comms. Archer went back to his chairand sat down.

"Bridge here." He said.

"Captain, this is Malcolm Reed, i have found something about this man." He said.

"I'm on my way. Commander, you have the bridge." Archer said and went towards the turbolift. Down at engineering Malcolm Reed and Tucker were waiting for him.


	11. Chapter 11

"What do you got?" He asked immediately. Reed had a PDA in his hands and showed him an image of a man.

"Does he look familiar?" Reed asked. On the picture Archer saw a man of Indian descent with strong features. Looking closer he realised it was a younger version of the man he spoke to. He looked at the bottom of the picture for the name. Khan Noonien Singh. He looked up at Reed.

"You found him. Khan. I know that name. He was an augment from the Eugenics wars wasn't he?" He wondered, Reed nodded.

"When i saw his face i immediately thought about the Eugenics wars. Took a little to find the right person but its definitly him. He is one of the augments that managed to rule a third of the world at one time under an iron fist. Eventually he was defeated though, but he and a couple of other augments disappeared mysteriously. Nobody knew where they went, but there were suspicions." Reed said, the last part in an eerie tone.

"Suspicions of what?" Archer asked but he knew the answer.

"That they escaped in a sleeper ship." Reed said with a smirk. Archer nodded. So it was true, he was an old cryogenic, but not a colonist. He was an escaped war criminal. That still didn't explain how he got here though, nor how he got to be the way he was. Perhaps he and his kin decided to take their augmentation a step or 2 further.

"So we are dealing with a human." Tucker stated.

"Hardly." Reed answered. "These augments had great psychological issues, their bodies are under high pressure and they all have traumas from their augmentations. They are cruel, vile creatures. I wonder what does the Doc know about augments? He has lived on Earth for a while, perhaps he can tell us better."

"Great job Reed, be sure to find out as much as you can about the eugenics wars, whatever we can find out could be used against them. Try finding the details on how Khan was beaten and about his plans specifically. Work along with the doc to find any weaknesses." Archer continued as he made his way back to the turbolift again. Reed simply nodded and ran off. Tucker right behind him.

"Archer to bridge" Archer said as he entered the turbolift.

"Bridge here." He heard T'pol say.

"Commander, we are dealing with human sleeper. An augment. Open a channel to the other ships, we have to talk." He said.

"Understood captain." T'pol responded dutifully. Archer hoped he wouldn't get too much trouble from the Vulcans about what they were dealing with. Once on the bridge he went up to his seat as T'pol returned to her station.

"Channel is opened sir." She said as she sat down.

"Captain Voris, Captain Hernandez, i have identified our adversary." He said in a calm, strict tone like he wasn't alarmed. He explained who the man probably is. Hernandez looked worried but Captain Voris, as always, looked disappointed.

"Augmentations are an abomination. I studied the eugenics wars of Earth. The devastation, the degradation. Humans are still too much focussed on the physical body, instead of the mind." Voris explained.

"You mean to tell me Captain, that Vulcans have never tried to augment their bodies in their history?" Archer just had to ask that before asking the more pressing issue. Captain Voris looked chocked.

"Never, even before we got rid of emotions, Vulcans have never expressed the desire for artificial enhancements." He exclaimed. Archer waved his hand in dismissive gesture.

"Alright, thanks for clearing that up Captain. Now, you say you studied the Eugenics wars. What about Khan Noonien Sing?" Archer asked. Voris simply shrugged.

"I studied the tactics applied and the origin of the war, not the humans involved. I had no such interests." He said, almost ironically. Archer sighed.

"Well thats not very helpfull is it? You don't know how he was beaten before nor about his escape from the planet?" Archer asked again. Instead of Voris answering Captain Hernandez spoke.

"Captain, i might have an idea. As it so happens onboard my ship i have a bit of an augmentations ethusiast. Lieutenant Green. She has done multiple modifications to her body, as well as done some to others back on Earth. Perhaps she can be of help to learn more about whom you speak of." She said. Archer nodded.

"Excellent, show her the footage of our encounter and see if she can identify some of his augmentations and perhaps tell us more about him and his associates. Thank you, Archer out." Archer stood back up as T'Pol cut the feed.

"Captain, i do believe we need to focus more on the man rather than his augmentations." T'pol mentioned. Archer frowned, he didn't have time to figure it all out.

"These augments are threathening a peaceful world full of innocent people. I need to know what we are dealing with, their powers, their technology. I have a feeling we will be forced into a violent encounter and i need to know how we can survive." He told T'pol. She nodded.

"I understand captain, we don't have the time to learn everything about them. But your current communication is with this Khan. If you know how to talk to him, you might be able to talk him out of attacking this planet." She said. Archer thought it over, then nodded.

"Augments were, stubborn. More than stubborn. Terribly arrogant and overconfident. I'm sure this Khan is no different. Perhaps i can use that. I need to know what he wants, what makes him tick. If that will be enough to talk him out of this attack i don't know. But its worth a shot." Archer said, nodding. He stood up again and walked over to the tactical station.

"Bring up the positions of the enemy ships and ours, lets see if we can simulate what the responsese would be to certain maneuvers." He said as he helped the tactical officer put it in the terminal.


	12. Chapter 12

"Captain Hernandez is hailing us Captain." T'pol said a few minutes later.

"On screen." Archer said as he walked back to his chair and stood in front of it as the image of Captain Hernandez accompanied by a very jittery looking lieutenant next to her.

"Captain Archer, meet lieutenant Green." She said with great pride.

"Yes, the augmentations expert." Archer said. He saw Lieutenant Green blush. When she looked at Hernandez and she saw she was waiting for her to speak she quickly got to her senses though and took a step forward.

"Captain Archer i have some information about Khan and his croonies. I believe that the augmentations you see on their bodies are not your average augmentations, if they are at all. I believe that they must have been turned in some way to look like this, under force."

"So you are saying these implants they have are not voluntarily placed?" Archer asked curiously. Green shook her head.

"No sir, i can see by their skintone that the implants and thus the alterations are full body, meaning they probably have some kind of nanotechnology under their skin, crawling through them. My guess is they have encountered or stole alien technology and didn't know what to do with it and as a result look like this, they are bound to it now. It gives them longer life and possibly heightened sense and faster information processing. Things like that. But it has permanently changed them, all the way into their DNA."

"I see, that would explain why they are still alive and how they are able to operate advanced technology. They could know more about us then we realised." Archer answered, worried. He turned to T'Pol.

"Remember what he said? They came here to recruit. I thought he meant to enslave, but they are going further than that. They want to turn everyone they can get their hands on into one of them, with the alien technology running through their veins, making them part of their "collective"." He said, T'pol nodded.

"Collective? Did you say collective?" Lieutenant Green asked, Archer turned back and nodded to her. She sighed heavily, looking worried as ever.

"Captain, if they work in a collective mind you might not have been talking to an individual at all. If this technology is as advanced as i fear it is then they have a single mind and are in constant communication, internal implants can do many things including creating a collective mind. This is truly madness. The augments they used to be are totally gone. Not even augments would agree to join minds, they were too proud for that, it had to be forced. They wouldn't do anything to compromise their minds, their most precious possession." Green said. Archer thought about that for a moment.

"I must say i did see some conflict in him as i talked to him. You may not be totally correct Lieutenant. I think i have found a way to deal with him now. Thank you. Go back to your stations, we got work to do." Archer said, Lieutenant Green nodded and walked back. Hernandez gave a small nod too and the feed was cut.

"I do hope you are not trying to outsmart him Captain." Said T'pol. Archer wanted to sigh but stopped himself. He knew what she meant, augments like Khan are higly intelligent. He probably won't be fooled, tricked or outskilled on the intellectual level. Trying to do that is extremely dangerous.

"No, commander. Of course not." He empathically replied. "I'm trying to use his weaknesses against him. I believe, from what i heard from Lieutenant Green said that Khan still has at least partial individuality. If i can get to him on a personal level, maybe i can make him confused or less confident in his actions. That could give us enough time to defeat him."

"Thats a very dangerous theory Captain." T'Pol replied. Now Archer did sigh.

"Its the best shot we got." He said. "Bring up the enemy ships on screen." He said, the front screen changed into the tactical display of the system. The Columbia had just positioned itself between the enemy ships and the planet Benzar. The Benzites themselves had no armed vessels so it was the Columbia on its own. Thats why it was as close to the planet as possible, ready to maneuver to intercept any approach to the planet.  
Rimward, meaning away from the star of the system, the 3 enemy vessels were in a loose triangle formation, Khan's ship which was the biggest was in the middle. They were about 2 AU apart, the Enterprise and the Seleya were positioned close to eachother, only half a million kilometers and not even 2,5 million kilometers away from Khan's ship.

"At this point they are superior. We need to manuever as best we can to even the odds." He said. T'pol came standing next him.

"Our position is as good as it can get, if they attack we should focus on their biggest ship, Khan's ship. The Columbia will have to fend of the other 2 while we take on Khan's ship and disable it as fast as possible, focussing on its engines. Once disabled we go to help the Columbia. They have superior weapons and manueverability though. If we can't take out their leading ship the Columbia has no chance alone against the 2 other hostile ships." She said. Archer nodded.

"Right, the Seleya will take point in attacking Khan's ship. It has the more powerfull and more precise weapons. The Enterprise will keep its engines at full power so as soon as Khan's ship is disabled we can then head for the Columbia as quickly as possible." He said, now T'Pol nodded. If she agreed with the plan Archer was sure it was the best one.

"Captain." Said Hoshi Sato. "We are being hailed by Khan." She said. Archer nodded.

"On screen." He said whilst he sat down, T'pol got back to her station. Khan's old and wrinkled face appeared. Right now Archer clearly noticed the implants portuding from his body, the greying of his skin caused by the nanobots. The green emitting behind him from dangerous, alien technology. Archer's hair on his neck stood up.


	13. Chapter 13

"Captain Archer, i take it you have discussed and planned extensively. I must say i am getting curious to what your reply will be to our, proposal. How do you colleagues think about it Captain? What of the Vulcans on the Seleya or on your bridge?" He spoke more friendly than before, more human. Archer looked at T'Pol for a short moment. He had to play this smart, calmly.

"I'm afraid we are going to say no to your proposal, we do not agree to be made into slaves of this collective of yours, nor will we allow you to make slaves of anyone in this system or beyond." He said, he wondered if it may be too much.

"Is that a threat Captain? Did you not discuss this enough with the other ships? Can't you see the hopelessness of your situation? We are superior in every way. In technology, in tactics, in brains. We, shall include your distinctiveness to our own. We shall learn from eachother, oh yes. One step closer to perfection." Khan's voice didn't alter a bit, his facial expressions stayed bland.

"Our distinctiveness is our own. Its not yours to take. To say this must ring a bell to you and your kind. Afterall, you yourself were once unique, proud of your distinctiveness." Archer said. This time Khan's face twisted a tiny bit.

"Our distinctiveness? We are one, Captain. We share equally amongst eachother, no secrets. That is true knowledge. Power comes from knowledge. We will expand our knowledge with yours. It is a beautifull thing, to be full, to be whole." After that small twitch Khan's expression stayed the same again. Archer turned a little in his chair whilst thinking.

"I meant to refer to before you became "them." During a time of strife, of war amongst your kind. You fought well, but lost still. You fought to preserve your distinctiveness, yet now you seem to allow yourself to be overpowered by something more powerful than you." When archer said those last words the face of Khan changed a bit again, though it wash ard o read if it was anger or surprise he was expressing. Now i am getting to him Archer though. Time to hit the weak spot.

"We know who you are, Khan Noonien Sing. Or rather, who you were. Augments from Earth, 1995 if i'm not mistaken. You were one of the ones that got away after the Eugnics wars, people presumed you were dead. But you fled, in a sleeper ship didn't you? The Botany Bay and look at what you have done to her. A Captain must take pride in his ship, not allow it to be taken over by alien technology. Where is your honor?" As Archer spoke Khan's face became more and more readable. He was getting angry, his face got closer to the screen. But as Archer finished his words he relaxed and even smiled a bit.

"Captain, captain. You surprise me. You found out about the past. What we once were is irrelevant. A new universe has opened up to us, so many worlds, so many individuals to collect. How can we possibly stay what we were when we are now so much better?" He said, smiling again after he had spoken. Archer smiled back a bit to show he noticed. Its possible Khan didn't even realise it. Archer knew what he should say next.

"What i can't understand, Khan. Is why you would surrender to this alien species, this collective. Back on Earth you were a king. A God amongst men. Now, just a slave." Archer really took a risk here. A big risk. But he had no other ideas. Khan's face visibly turned angry though, bingo.

"I am no slave, Captain. I have joined forces, this is a mutualism. I don't take orders, i give them. The only one who is a slave is you Captain, taking orders from your superiors lightyears from here. Don't lecture me on slavery, humanity wanted to make slaves of us. Probably did with all my defeated brothers and sisters during the war. But not now, not you. We are perfect, we are supreme." A smirk came to Khan's face. Archer smiled back at him. The smirk disappeared. Khan's face turned to a frown. Archer spoke calmly and clearly.

"You will not win, humanity has changed since you left. We are stronger than ever before. United we stand. You are a pirate, nothing more. A parasite even. Preying on the innocent, creeping around in space, making victims of the weak and defenseless. Same as here, only you weren't expecting a welcome party consisting of 3 powerful vessels. You are angry and your are scared. Thats a dangerous combination Khan. Dangerous and foolish." Archer said as sat back down in his chair, not because he was about the end the conversation but just to show his confidence. Khan was furious of course.

"Enough from you, worm. This has gone on long enough. We are superior, we can destroy you, i can do it on my own if i had to. I can call the other ships away and my ship alone will be enough to..." Khan's face suddenly went blank, no emotions could be read. Something was up.

"Stay alert." Archer said to his crew. "I have a feeling what is going on." He said, what he suspected proved to be true. The feed was cut off abruptly. Alarms started blazing.

"Captain, the enemy vessels are moving, they are heading straight for us!" T'Pol said.

"Red Alert. Combat stations." Archer said. "Target Khan's vessel, Captain Voris you take point. Slow that ship down." Khan's ship was closest to them and they approached, firing phasers from all banks. The Seleya was faster and had more firepower, it pounded the enemy ships with all it got, maneuvering to its flanks whilst the Enterprise remained in front of it and moved slowely downwards to get under it. The engines were the main target of course. Khan's ship was faster than it looked though, it rolled around and pitched upwards as it passed over the Enterprise. It fired its own phasers, which were green, on the Enterprise. The shield went down to 30 percent from 1 volley. Then it shot straight up, away from the Enterprise. The Seleya followed it. The Enterprise now lagged behind a bit. Meanwhile the other 2 ships were going at full speed towards the planet.

"Captain, we did little damage to the ship, only some minor damage to its hull." T'pol said. Archer sighed.

"Helmsman Mayweather manuever us closer to the rimward enemy vessel. We can't gain on Khan's ship anymore. Fire a photon torpedo." He said. Ensign Mayweather did as instructed. The photon torpedo hit Khan's ship just near the aft, damaging it well. But it was still fast and managed to outmanuever the Seleya who now also lagged behind.

"Captain Voris, move your ship away from the main vessel, join us against the second ship." The Seleya immediately moved away from Khan's ship. It was slowed down enough that it won't be able to assist the 3rd enemy ship at the planet against the Columbia immediately. Khan's ship didn't pursue the Seleya but steered towards the planet and Columbia.

The Seleya and Enterprise cut off the route of the 2nd enemy vessel and attacked immediately. It manuevered but their position was a lot better than against Khan's ship and they managed to keep up with it. The Enterprise had to manuever a lot to avoid getting hit though and didn't get many shots in. The Seleya was doing better but didn't do as much damage yet, it had to get closer. They need to get the upperhand in this fight as soon as they can or the Columbia will be in trouble.

"Armory to bridge" Reed said. "I can modify our last torpedo to do maximum damage to its hull but only that. I have an idea if it hits the aft on the right spot it can damage its engines enough to disable it for this fight completely."

"Do it." Said Archer without hesitation. "Ensign, get us as close to the enemy ship as possible, we only got 1 shot at this." Mayweather rolled the ship and turned for the perfect angle to fire the torpedo. He fired it and it hit the aft section right on the money. He quickly steered the ship away from the enemy firing run. They still got hit pretty hard though.

"Shields are at 10 percent captain. The enemy ship seems to be disabled but its not clear." T'Pol said.

"Should i go for another run Captain and finish it off?" Mayweather asked. But it wasn't neccesary, the Seleya had followed their manuever and got in close to the port side of the ship and fired a full volley on the weakened parts. The ship exploded, only the front remained but tiny explosions were seen all over it.

"Helmsman, all power to engines, we need to help out the Columbia." Archer said. Mayweather pitched the ship around and headed for the planet. It would take several, long minutes to get there though.


	14. Chapter 14

"Incoming transmission from the Columbia Captain." T'Pol said and played the voice recording.

"This is the Columbia, we have sustained heavy damage. The enemy ships seem to have halted their attack. Our weapons are knocked out. We can't seem to penetrate the enemy vessel's hull. The bigger vessel is already upon us. We need assistance now or they will overrun us!"

"Why did they stop attacking?" Archer asked himself out loud.

"It happened right after we killed that ship, captain." Mayweather said. Archer thought about it for a second. He then pressed a button on his chair.

"Bridge to Dr. Phlox." Archer said, a second later Phlox was on the line. "Doctor, can you give me any idea as to why they might have stopped their attack?" He asked Phlox because there might be some physical or psychological reason to it. Dr. Phlox confirmed his suspicions.

"I think their collective mind got a serious hit after you destroyed one of their ships. Imagine it feels like your ears popping, no sound anymore. They heard all the thoughts and voices on that ship and suddenly its not there anymore. Can be quite confusing." Phlox said. Archer nodded.

"Alright. Thank you doctor." Archer replied and wanted to cut the feed but Phlox meant to say something else.

"Captain, i have been studying their physiology, there are some records in the database about augments. I think lieutenant Green was right, they wouldn't willingly give up their individuality, yet they are a part of this collective. Khan seems to believe he is in control however. Perhaps we can take advantage of that by revealing his true position." Phlox said. He had been studying their connection as well with Tucker, see if they could intervene in this collective link.

"Understood doctor, keep working on it, you have my authority to use whatever means you have to disrupt their communications. Keep going ensign, we must reach the Columbia before they get their act together again." Archer said. The minutes crawled by until they actually reached the Columbia before the enemy ships responded. The Seleya and Enterprise flanked the Columbia together, first thing they needed to do was protect the Columbia and get the wounded to safety. The enemy vessels will have to wait.

"Columbia, transport your wounded onboard the Seleya. Give me a damage report." Archer said. Hernandez came on screen. She had a big gash on the side of her face, blood was coming out fast.

"Captain, our shields are down and we have several hull breaches all over the ship. We are also leaking warp fuel. If we take one more hit we have to abandon ship. The core is unstable. Weapons and sensors are still active though." She spoke with a harsh tremble in her voice, it has been tough on them.

"Understood, focus on repairing the fuel leak, take up positions behind us. Captain Voris, target Khan's vessel. We have no choice but to attack."

"Captain, the enemy ships are still hanging still." T'pol mentioned.

"Good, take up positions in front of the Columbia, lets not..." Before Archer could finish his sentence and order the attack a call came from Dr. Phlox.

"Captain, Tucker and i have made a direct link to Khan. He can hear you and you can hear him. Talk to him, captain. It appears their moment of doubt is caused by him." Phlox said. Archer though for a second.

"Alright, if we even have a slim chance to a peaceful solution we must take it. Put him on."

"Captain Archer, it appears i owe you an apology." Archer heard Khan speak, his voice small and hoarse.

"Why is that?" Archer asked, still trying to figure out what to say to him to get him to retreat or surrender.

"I am not in full control, i came to this conclusion finally. The other ships, they don't respond to me like this ship does. We aren't equals on them. I have been deceived." He said.

"End this now Khan. Surrender, lower your weapons and turn off the engines. Can you do that?" Archer had a feeling Khan was much weaker than before, probably in a state of shock.

"Of course i can captain. But what of my people? My family. I left some behind, a lot are dead. Some are here with me of course, some you killed on that ship. I can't give up on them, can't let them die." Khan sounded desperate, as desperate as it gets.

"We will help them, we can. We have medical facilities and the technology to rid you of this infestation in your body." Archer said, hoping he could reason with him.

"But we are all connected captain. You can't sever the link, they won't listen. I'm not in contol, i told you. You must run!"

"Khan, we can't run, the Columbia is too heavily damaged. Isn't there anything you can do? Khan? Khan?" Archer didn't hear anything anymore, not even static. He was about to ask Phlox what was going on but then T'Pol made him look at the screen.

"Captain, the enemy ships are moving, they are targeting weapons." She said. Archer quickly sat down.

"Focus on the most damaged ship. Captain Voris, knock out Khan's engines."

"Our shields are still at only half strength captain, we can't take much." Mayweather said as he maneuvered the ship expertly to attack the other vessel. They took hits from both ships on their front and top, the shockwaves were violent and fires erupted on the bridge, several injured had to be taken off the bridge from the hits.

"Evasive manuevers, Mayweather focus fire on the smaller vessel. All power to shields and weapons. Lieutenant Reed, we are going to need torpedos." Archer said whilst holding on as the weapons fired all banks and they got hit on critical spots on the ship, the shields weren't holding.

"I can't get torpedos ready Captain, the tubes are damaged, i had to evacuate 2 torpedo chambers for fear of hull breaches." Reed was heard on the comms.

"Stay in front of the Columbia, get that fire out! Captan Voris, we need your assistance."

"Khan's vessel is holding us up, it can manuever faster and seems to be predicting our movements, we can't break off or we will expose our weak spots. We are causing a lot less damage to the ship than before, but once we penetrate their armor we can break off and help out. Hold on Captain, just hold on."

"We don't have the time. Ensign Mayweather, prepare for... What is that?" Archer asked before giving the order to ram the enemy ship. He saw it now, it was the Columbia, it had steered itself in front of them and taken the fire from the smaller vessel.

"Captain Hernandez, steer clear. Your ship is too damaged, you can't..." Captain Hernandez came on screen. Her face was blackened, beat up and bleeding. The bridge was on fire, several bodies around her.

"We have sustained too much damaged Captain. It has been an honor serving with you. Hernandez out." And she was gone from the screen.

"Captain! The Columbia is steering towards the enemy vessel!" T'pol screamed.

"On screen Commander." They watched as the Columbia plunged itself on the enemy ship. They both blew up with tremendous force, the shockwave knocked the Enterprise out and it tumbled towards the planet.


	15. Chapter 15

"Ensign Mayweather. Report." Archer said whilst alarms starting wailing all over them, there was a warning of an imminent hull breach. Suddenly Archer felt himself lift up from his chair. The gravity was failing.

"The engines are knocked out Captain. Inertial dampners are failing, hull pressure is fluxuating. We need to reroute the power. Stand by." Mayweather worked his controls as fast as he could. Suddenly the alarms went off and the tumbling stopped. Gravity returned.

"Power is back, engines online Captain." Wayweather said after blowing out some air he was holding a while. Archer smiled.

"Excellent work Ensign. Damage report Commander."

"We have sustained heavy damage sir. Hull integrity is failing on several levels, the warp core is unstable but engineering says they can repair it. The shields are down, will take some time to reactivate them. We suffered 15 dead and over 50 wounded. Status is yellow sir." T'pol said as a medic treated a wound on her head.

"How is the Seleya doing?" Archer asked next, it frustrated him this delay, after watching the Columbia sacrifice itself he didn't want it to be in vain, they have to finish this.

"External sensors and audio comms are offline, last status report says the Seleya struggled against Khan's ship but when the other ship was destroyed they appear to have made a run for it."

"How are our engines?" Archer said, hopefull to hear some good news.

"As i said the warp core is still unstable so i wouldn't recommend a jump, but the impulse engines are undamaged Captain."

"Get the external audio comms back online as fast as you can. Helmsman, set a course for the Seleya, pursuit that ship." Archer said. He helped the last wounded crew off the bridge.

"Aye aye, Captain." Mayweather said without hestitation. Good, Archer thought, the crew hasn't been demoralized by seeing the Columbia blow up, best to keep focussed and steer all your anger towards the enemy vessel.

"Captain, even at full impulse won't be able to catch up with Khan's vessel, the Seleya is currently taking it all from her engines to keep up but soon they will run out of juice as well. It appears Khan's ship is capable to jumping away once they got enough distance from the Seleya." T'pol reported. Archer couldn't believe it, he can't get away, not now. Suddenly he remembered something.

"Doctor, can you get another link with Khan?" He asked through the comms. Phlox took a while to respond.

"Sorry Captain, I am very busy, i have dozens of patients with burns, broken bones, concussions. I do not have time to make a neural link again." Phlox said, sounding exhausted. Archer saw Tucker behind him bringing in wounded from engineering.

"Tucker, can you do it?" He asked immediately. Tucker came to the panel, Phlox disappeared quickly.

"I can do it captain, but it won't be pretty. This will hurt him and drain a lot of energy from the ship. It won't be long either, maybe a few minutes." He said, also looking and sounding exhausted.

"I won't need that long. Make it happen Lieutenant." Archer said quickly, he stood up.

"Line opened sir." T'Pol stated.

"Khan?" Archer wondered what he was going to receive, in what state Khan would be in. He didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"Captain? Captain? This is not right, no. There must be order." Khan almost whispered now, like he didn't want to be overheard.

"There never was any order here Khan, all you have is chaos. You bring death and destruction, where is the order in that?" Archer asked, he spoke not like he was angry, but like he was scolding a child.

"I have power here Captain, i maintain order whilst we fight for survival." Khan said, a little bit louder this time.

"You have power? Then why is you ship fleeing? Did you make that decision? And what happened when you lost your ships? Did you order to halt the aggression? Did you have to think it through?" Archer asked, T'pol leaned over to him.

"Captain i don't think its wise to antagonize him, if they go to warp we can track..." Archer cut her off.

"I know what i'm doing commander. Just bear with me for a second." Archer waved her off, speaking softly enough so Khan won't overhear them. Archer spoke to Khan again.

"If you have power, then you can turn your ship around and face us. But i know you can't do it, because it was never you under control. Its the machines, the nanites. They are in control. Isn't that right?" He talked around taking time with every word so it came out a natural as possible. Khan sounded more surprised than angry.

"This is a mutualism Captain. A symbiosis. Our control is equal, our needs and desires conjoined. Who are you to tell us what control is? I have decided to attack, to expand, to incorporate alien technologies and biologies. We grow strong, stronger than anyone yet. You have just won the battle, but we will adapt. We will conquer you all!" Khan went from surprised to sounding triumphant.

"What about your family?" Archer then asked. There was a moment silence, did he take the bait?

"My family is part of this too, they are as much valuable as any other worker down here. They are another cog in the mechanism. They are... Wait, this is not me talking. This is not who we are. No, no. Power, order. Where are we at?" Khan obviously started to become very confused.

"Khan, we can turn you back. Turn the ship around and surrender, we can save your family. Help us take control back." Archer said, his final plea.

"No! I will not stand for this. You want to see power? You want to see control? I'll show you that Captain Archer!" Khan screamed and the link was cut.

"Captain, the enemy vessel has started to slow down and turn around. Its charging all weapons." T'pol said.

"Dammit, i was hoping they would at least stand down long enough for us to gain a tactical lead. Fine then, the Seleya is up front, get ready."

"Captain, Khans vessel is picking up a lot of speed, they seem to be going for a ramming course, all guns blazing." Mayweather said. Good, Archer thought, that must be Khan's doing. So there is control, however he does it.

"The Seleya is maneuvering to the starboard sir." T'Pol said.

"Good, evasive maneuver Delta, don't try to fire on them just yet. Let them pass. Then swing the ship around. Attack pattern Alpha 2." Archer said. This was it, if Khan didn't change course quickly he would overshoot them without hitting much and be caught in the rear. After a few minutes as they closed in on eachother it was clear Khan wasn't changing anything. This was either a headstrong, foolish attack or a desperate attempt of Khan to take control by deciding to sacrifice himself.

Once the ships passed eachother the Enterprise took a few hits but nothing that would cripple it further. The Seleya swung around first and got a few good shots at the rear of Khan's vessel. It crippled its engines and by then the result of the battle was clear. Khan's ship had no way to turning back quickly enough to counter their attack and both the Enterprise and Seleya fired all they got at the slowing turning enemy vessel. Eventually the Seleya shot straight at its bridge which exploded and turned the ship into a huge, useless hunk of metal. It was over. Scans showed all enemies were dead, the vessel neutralized. Everyone on the bridge jumped with join as they finally defeated what had to be the fiercest and most powerfull enemy they had ever encountered.

 _Captain's Log stardate 2150.7 Our final confrontation with Khan Noonien Singh can only be described as a great triumph against an aggressive, powerfull and terrifying enemy. In the end Khan had realised that his control over the alien nanites was a lot less than he had wanted, or hoped for. This caused him to revert back to his old self at the last moment, deciding to go in head first against a manueverable enemy that would destroy him without hesitation. Whether this was a sacrifice or a final proud decision by a man who had ruled over millions we will never know._

 _After Khan's defeat Starfleet and the Vulcan high command have swept through the sectors destroying any enemy locations and vessels with merciless accuracy and maximum destruction to make sure nobody can become victim of the alien entity ever again. We've found 3 entire planets with hundreds of thousands of slaves and many had to be eliminated when they attacked Vulcan, human, Benzite, Andorian and Tellerite ships to the great remorse of the people on board the ships. We have found advanced technology throughout the sector and are currently trying to make it adaptable to our own. This experience has left me and my crew with a permanent dread about what is out there. Still, i am an explorer and we shall set out on our original mission shortly after repairs are done. First thing we will do when we get back out there is find the Ferengi and try to establish communications with them. Hopefully our encounter with a new alien species will this time develop peacefully._

THE END


End file.
